Are you passionate about being part of a team at a Fortune 100 company with nearly $70 billion in annual sales that delivers extraordinary care to help individuals and businesses prepare for and protect their future? If so, then Nationwide Financial could be the place for you! At Nationwide®, “on your side” goes beyond just words. Our customers and partners are at the center of everything we do and we’re looking for associates who are passionate about delivering extraordinary care.
Medical Director, Life Underwriting
Location: Remote (U.S.)
Job Type: Full-time, Exempt
About the Role
We are seeking a Medical Director to join our Life Underwriting team, applying your clinical expertise to improve mortality and morbidity risk assessment. In this role, you will support life underwriting through medical case consultation, guideline development, and education, while partnering with underwriting leadership, claims, product, actuarial, and other stakeholders to deliver strong business results and an excellent customer experience.
This is an excellent opportunity for a physician or advanced practitioner with an interest in insurance medicine who wants to move into (or deepen) a career in life underwriting.
Key Responsibilities
Medical Risk Assessment
- Review life insurance applications referred for medical review and provide written risk assessments, including recommendations on ratings, postponements, declines, and exclusions.
- Interpret complex medical histories, medical records, lab data, and diagnostic testing (including ECGs) to assess mortality and morbidity risk.
- Serve as a medical resource for underwriters on complex, impaired-risk, older-age, and high–face-amount cases.
Underwriting Support, Automation & Digital Data
- Provide day‑to‑day consultation to underwriters and leadership on medical issues impacting risk selection.
- Collaborate with underwriting and underwriting innovation team to:
- Refine medical aspects of underwriting rules and requirements.
- Support the effective use of digital medical evidence sources (e.g., EHR-derived summaries, lab data, APS, pharmacy data) in risk assessment.
- Contribute medical input to automation and accelerated underwriting initiatives so they maintain appropriate protective value.
- Help identify trends in impairments, testing, and outcomes that can inform underwriting strategy and process improvements.
Guidelines, Policy & Innovation
- Contribute to the development and ongoing refinement of evidence‑based medical underwriting guidelines, manuals, and rules.
- Assist in evaluating new lab tests, diagnostics, therapies, and clinical practices for their impact on mortality/morbidity and underwriting requirements.
- Ensure medical guidelines and practices align with regulatory requirements, reinsurance treaties, and internal risk appetite.
Training, Education & Collaboration
- Develop and deliver training for underwriters and junior team members on disease states, test interpretation, and emerging medical trends.
- Provide feedback and coaching through case referrals to help underwriters build stronger medical judgment.
- Work closely with cross-functional partners (underwriting, claims, product, actuarial, legal/compliance, operations, reinsurance) to align medical perspectives with business strategy.
Industry & Thought Leadership
- Stay current with advancements in medicine, insurance medicine, and underwriting practices; communicate key developments and implications to stakeholders.
- Participate in relevant professional organizations, conferences, and industry workgroups as appropriate.
- Represent the company externally as a medical underwriting expert when engaging with reinsurers, distribution partners, and industry bodies.
Qualifications
Education & Credentials
- Medical degree (MD or DO, or equivalent) required.
- Licensed to practice medicine in at least one U.S. state (or ability to obtain licensure in a reasonable timeframe).
- Board certification in Internal Medicine or Family Medicine preferred (not required).
- Board certification or eligibility in Insurance Medicine is highly desirable but not required.
Experience
- Minimum of 3 years of clinical experience post‑training; additional experience is welcomed.
- Prior experience in life insurance, risk assessment, or managed care is a plus but not strictly required.
- Demonstrated experience interpreting complex clinical information and making balanced, well‑reasoned decisions.
Technical Skills
- Comfort reviewing and synthesizing medical records, EHR printouts, lab results, imaging reports, and specialist consultations.
- Familiarity with common medical coding and documentation conventions (e.g., ICD and CPT codes).
- Experience with modeling or analytics is a preference
- Willingness to work with underwriting systems, digital evidence sources, and rule-based tools (training provided as needed).
Core Competencies
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; able to translate complex medical concepts into clear guidance for underwriters and business partners.
- Strong analytical and diagnostic skills; able to synthesize clinical data into concise, well‑supported recommendations.
- Collaborative, low‑ego approach; proven ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary teams.
- Demonstrated aptitude for teaching, mentoring, and building capabilities in others.
- High integrity and commitment to ethical medical and underwriting practices.
- Comfort operating in a changing environment, with openness to experimentation and continuous improvement.
Job Description Summary
Are you ready to apply your expert knowledge of medical science and its impact on health and mortality in a key leadership role, by developing and evolving Nationwide's medical underwriting guidelines and approaches? If so, we want to know more about you!
As a Medical Director, you'll provide medical skills to accurately adjudicate health and disability claims in associate, individual, group and workers' compensations claims activities. We'll count on you to provide written medical risk assessments and advise underwriters on referred cases. You'll have opportunities to provide medical training and coaching and to review and improve the medical training curriculum. In addition, you also may provide medical care and direction for Associate Health Services and direct patient care at select Nationwide events.
Job Description
Key Responsibilities:
Interprets insurability and rating of life insurance applicants. Provides written medical risk assessments and case consultations to Life Underwriters.
Provides morbidity risk assessments as needed for riders such as waiver of premium and Long Term Care (LTC). Interpret EKGs, stress tests and provides appropriate risk assessments. Provides medical skills to properly adjudicate LTC, disability and life insurance claims for Nationwide.
Provides formal and informal medical training and coaching to underwriters. Develops new content and/or updates curriculum for medical instruction for Underwriting and others as appropriate.
Identifies need and helps develop medical underwriting guidelines. Drives assessment of new laboratory tests and other medical technology from mortality prediction and cost benefit perspectives. Establishes Medical Department policies strategies.
Provides medical skills to properly adjudicate claims in employee, individual, group and workers’ compensations.
Provides physician counseling and advice in corporate health promotions.
Promotes advancement of insurance medicine with industry organizations. Represent Nationwide and Nationwide Financial at Insurance Industry events, including industry meetings and committees such as the American Council of Life Insurance, The American Academy of Insurance Medicine, the Medical Information Bureau and the Board of Insurance Medicine.
May perform other responsibilities as assigned.
Reporting Relationships: Reports to Associate Vice President, Life Underwriting.
Typical Skills and Experiences:
Education: Doctor of Medicine or equivalent degree received from a medical school program accredited by the Liaison Committee of Medical Education.
License/Certification/Designation: Licensed to practice medicine in at least one state. Board certification in Insurance Medicine.
Experience: Completion of fully accredited residency in a medical specialty and five years of post-residency experience in the practice of medicine. Clinical medical and insurance medicine. Four years of insurance medical experience.
Knowledge, Abilities and Skills: Knowledge of medicine, insurance, and underwriting practices. Sophisticated verbal and written communication skills. Command of skills to interact with all levels of associates. Ability to analyze complex medical problems/situations with regard to mortality. Ability to teach and explain medical material to key populations. Ability to treat complex medical conditions should they arise. Ability to maintain a license through continuing medical education requirements.
Other criteria, including leadership skills, competencies and experiences may take precedence.
Staffing exceptions to the above must be approved by the hiring manager’s leader and HR Business Partner.
Values: Regularly and consistently demonstrates the Nationwide Values.
Job Conditions:
Overtime Eligibility: Exempt (Not eligible)
Working Conditions: Normal office environment. Some travel may be required.
ADA: The above statements cover what are generally believed to be principal and essential functions of this job. Specific circumstances may allow or require some people assigned to the job to perform a somewhat different combination of duties.
Benefits
We have an array of benefits to fit your needs, including: medical/dental/vision, life insurance, short and long term disability coverage, paid time off with newly hired associates receiving a minimum of 18 days paid time off each full calendar year pro-rated quarterly based on hire date, nine paid holidays, 8 hours of Lifetime paid time off, 8 hours of Unity Day paid time off, 401(k) with company match, company-paid pension plan, business casual attire, and more. To learn more about the benefits we offer, click here.
Nationwide is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone feels challenged, appreciated, respected and engaged. Nationwide prohibits discrimination and harassment and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to any characteristic (or classification) protected by applicable law.
NOTE TO EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES:
We value the partnerships we have built with our preferred vendors. Nationwide does not accept unsolicited resumes from employment agencies. All resumes submitted by employment agencies directly to any Nationwide employee or hiring manager in any form without a signed Nationwide Client Services Agreement on file and search engagement for that position will be deemed unsolicited in nature. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is subsequently hired as a result of the referral or through other means.
Nationwide pays on a geographic-specific salary structure and placement within the actual starting salary range for this position will be determined by a number of factors including the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; the scope, complexity and location of the role as well as the cost of labor in the market; and other conditions of employment. If a Sales job, Sales Incentives, based on performance goals are possible in addition to this range. Note on Compensation for Part-Time Roles: Please be aware that the salary ranges listed below reflect full-time compensation. Actual compensation may be prorated based on the number of hours worked relative to a full-time schedule.The national salary range for Sr Medical Director : $170,000.00-$318,000.00The expected starting salary range for Sr Medical Director : $170,000.00 - $284,000.00
